Protecting Ontario’s Drinking Water for Future Generations

December 19, 2018

By: The Working Forest Staff

Minister Rod Phillips has released his first Minister’s Annual Report on Drinking Water. The report highlights progress over the last year and shows that 99.8 percent of more than half a million test results from municipal residential drinking water systems met Ontario’s drinking water quality standards.

“Ontario’s drinking water remains among the best protected in the world,” said Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks. “In Ontario, our water is protected by strict health-based drinking water standards, comprehensive legislation and strong monitoring, reporting and enforcement that ensure the quantity and quality of our drinking water.”

The report showcases actions the province is taking with municipalities, conservation authorities and Indigenous communities to protect drinking water from its source to people’s taps. The report also outlines how we will continue to ensure the long-term sustainability of our vital water resources through the government’s new made-in-Ontario environment plan.

Ontario is working together with partners to address the key stressors on our water resources. The plan proposes new actions to protect Great Lakes, fish, parks, beaches, coastal wetlands, and water by reducing plastic litter, reducing phosphorus that causes excess algae, addressing sources and causes of shoreline bacteria, reducing salt in waterways, and focusing on vulnerable areas such as Lake Ontario.

The government is also proposing to extend the moratorium on new and increasing permits to take groundwater to produce bottled water until January 1, 2020. This will allow time to complete a thorough review of water taking policies, programs, and science tools to ensure a continuous supply.

“Our government will ensure the continued protection of our water resources,” said Phillips. “Actions set out in our new environment plan will help us tackle the many pressures on our water resources and ensure our lakes, waterways, and groundwater are well protected, now and for future generations.”